VIJAYAWADA: Telugu NRIs in New Jersey, USA, heckled national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and MP GVL Narasimha Rao for 'cheating' Andhra Pradesh. They also raised slogans demanding justice to the State and walked out of a meeting Narasimha Rao addressed.

The incident came to light when the official social media pages of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) shared a four-minute video which showed an argument between Telugu NRIs and GVL Narasimha Rao at a programme organised by 'Overseas Friends of the BJP' at Edison in New Jersey.

Addressing a meeting, Narasimha Rao was explaining the financial assistance given by the Centre for the development of Andhra Pradesh during which he alleged that the TDP government was politicising the issue. "It is the State government which is not taking the assistance provided by the Centre. Can the TDP government give it in writing why it isn't accepting the assistance?" he asked. To this, some participants raised severe objections and said the Centre was ignoring AP.

They said that even though they supported thought Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, the Centre meted out a raw deal to AP. A heated argument ensued with Narasimha Rao trying to explain to them 'the real picture'. Upon the intervention of the organisers, the Telugu NRIs staged a walkout, raising 'Jai Telugu' slogans.

Condemning the incident, Narasimha Rao said that the TDP NRIs tried to disrupt the programme after being directed by the party headquarters. "These are cheap propaganda tactics of the TDP. We knew that messages were circulated earlier to TDP supporters to attend my meeting and disrupt it by raising questions. We could have prevented their entry, but we allowed them to participate. I was willing to answer all their questions, but they were there only with an intention to disrupt the meeting," he said in a video message released by the BJP State unit.

Telugus disrupt GVL’s speech in U.S. over SCS

Cheap propaganda tactics of TDP, says BJP MP

Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao’s interaction with the NRIs organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP in New Jersey on Thursday was marred by protests over the Central government’s inability to give the Special Category Status (SCS).

Some of the participants interrupted his speech when he claimed that the special financial assistance was more beneficial than the SCS and it was the State government that had spurned the offer due to its own reasons.

Slogans raised

The protesters held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the plight of A.P. and questioned why he maintained a stoic silence as the State struggled to cope with the fallout of bifurcation because of the injustice meted out to it.

Mr. Rao told them they should not become a part of the propaganda that the BJP did nothing for A.P., to which the protesters objected and staged a walkout shouting “Jai Andhra”.

The organisers said questions were welcome but the event could not be hijacked.

In a press release, Mr. Rao said the protesters owed allegiance to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and they came only to disrupt the programme. He called it cheap propaganda tactics of the TDP allegedly directed from its headquarters.

“We knew that there were messages circulated earlier from the TDP to attend, raise questions and disrupt. We could have prevented their entry but we allowed them to participate and I was willing to answer all their questions but they were there only to disrupt,” he said.

Mr. Rao said he would be in the U.S. in the next few days when the NRI-TDP could engage him in talks. He was prepared to not only answer each and every question posed by them but also convince them on the special focus laid on A.P.

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IS IT WRONG to question a public servant (Rajya Sabha MP) about the injustice done to state of Andhra Pradesh?

IS IT WRONG to object this public servant when he was blatently lying (see the video at min 4:20)? He says that the center has already provided 22,133 crore rupees towards revenue deficit. That a LIE!

WE DIDN’T bardge into a private event uninvited. It was a public event, and the invitiation was posted in public groups and other social media. Many of us were invited by the organizers personally. The flyer clearly says "attend with friends and family". We have patiently listened to all the speeches of the guests without interupting them. When the question and answer session has started towards the end of the event, we took the opportunity to raise our concern as people of AP. Yes! We have objected to the blatent lie that the center has already given 22,133 crore rupees to AP towards the revenue deficit (watch the vedio from min 4:20 onwards). It was the organizers who couldn't tolerate the genuine question and started the pandemonium. They have started panicking, involved the security to threaten us, shouted in the microphones and thus created a scene as if the meeting was hijacked by us. All it could have taken is two minutes of truthfull and honest answer from Mr. GVLN.

THOSE WHO ARE (including Mr. GVLN) trying to affiliate this to a political party, organization or a community SHOULD STOP THE NON-SENSE. Everyone who has participated the event and eventually forced to OBJECT to the lies of Mr. GVLN Rao is a true son and the welwisher of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

IF ANYONE THINKS that, what we have done is wrong and want to debate, I am READY! I promise! I will not embrass you by bringing in the current Karnataka topic.